emsfactory
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| posted on 4/11/05 at 09:32 AM |
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track day trailer
Hi all.
I am working in a business group at the minute in uni. I reckon we could make trailers for track day enthusiasts etc. as people always seem to be
looking for them.
Heres the stuff I need help with:
Does anybody want one?
What do they want it to do?
2wheels, 4 wheels, galvanised, braked, carry weight, covers etc.
Who already does them?
Whats the price range?
If it looks good i am more than happy to go into prduction.
Feedback greatly appreciated.
Cheers.
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ned
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| posted on 4/11/05 at 10:36 AM |
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i'd love my own trailer but firstly justifying the cost and then finding somewhere to keep it are the major problems I'd face.
i'd want a twin axle (your pride and joy that you've spent a lot of hours into is on that trailer, if you had a puncture on a single axle
trailer, what are the consequences to the car thats on it!), either painted or galvanised (pref, depending cost).
weight wise i guess i'd be after a safe limit of upto 850kg as i have a pug 106 track car i'd like to use it for aswell, most locosts
should come in at under 750kg with some exceptions (turbo's, v6's, v8's etc) also bear in mind people may want to bolt on a spare
set of wheels/tyre rack etc which needs to be considered in the design weight.
The idea of a modular trailer is great, either lift the bed off the wheels and store it on its side or lay it flat on the garage floor with the car
still on it. some quick release mechanism for the wheels etc to clip on/off or a simple bolt arrangement of some type (i mean, how frequently is the
average locost likely to use it?) I've also seen designs where the a-frame/towing head bit either comes off or flips up to make the trailer
shorter to fit in the garage.
Makes I've come across are brian james and ifor williams which i guess are 2 of the biggest.
I would be suprised to be honest if you could make a suitable product at a cheaper price and make any money out of it, if so why isn't anyone
else doing it already?!!
good luck with your reserach though, hope this helps..
Ned.
beware, I've got yellow skin
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jonbeedle
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| posted on 4/11/05 at 10:59 AM |
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I'd like one. No problem with storage I just want one under a million pounds!
"Everyone is entitled to an opinion however stupid!"
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Ian Pearson
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| posted on 4/11/05 at 11:12 AM |
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quote:
i'd want a twin axle (your pride and joy that you've spent a lot of hours into is on that trailer, if you had a puncture on a single axle
trailer, what are the consequences to the car thats on it!), either painted or galvanised (pref, depending cost).
Twin axle trailers are more difficult to manouvre. With the reliability of modern tyres and good roads (when compared to the third world), I
personally don't think that punctures are that big a factor when considering the design of a light, compact and easily stowable trailer. Single
axle is ample for a seven type car, however, if the trailer is going to double up as a trailer for towing larger cars,then perhaps a twin axle would
be the way to go.
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shortie
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| posted on 4/11/05 at 11:12 AM |
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Just been through all this and the biggest problem is finding one that can be stored easily.
I would say that it is essential that any design is less than the width of a normal garage (7ft) so it can be stored in the garage.
Obviously if it dismantle that's much better and galvanised would be great too. It is essential (IMHO) that it is twin axle and braked and a
load weight of I guess 750kg.
Like has already been said I suspect that the big companies have already looked at this (I know Brian James do one to fit in the garage) and that
would tend to suggest that you would have your work cut out to produce something of the correct spec and make money on it.
If you can then I reckon there's a fair sized market so good luck to you I say.
Rich.
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tobymack
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| posted on 4/11/05 at 11:38 AM |
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if you are comparing the competition the google for woodford trailers. Nicely made and cheaper than BJ etc.
without making a range you will never satisfy everyone.
I'd recommend something like the woodford single axle 10x5.5 as a good compromise between easy storage, easy manouverability, low cost etc.
But then I would not buy one from you as I already have a woodford single axle 10x5.5.... 
About the only mods I would like to do to the woodford is 12 " on the bed length (it is tight for a 7 even) and a removable A frame for even
more compact storage.
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MikeR
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| posted on 4/11/05 at 11:58 AM |
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reading this has me thinknig....
trailer fits into garage, some sort of locking mechanism to hold it in position, remove wheels / suspension (indepsension units - 4 bolts each) remove
a frame at front and lower to ground. Not only would this take up sod all space (its the size of the car - but it also would give you a raised
platform to work on the car.
Need to make it so that you can get the car off the trailer once its been lowered to the floor for sunday blats to the pub.
big issue would be speed of assembly / disassembly as it surely would have to be braked - quick release brake cables?
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Kowalski
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| posted on 4/11/05 at 12:21 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Ian Pearson
Twin axle trailers are more difficult to manouvre.
They can be more difficult to manouvre, but if you press down on the draw bar, it lifts the rear wheels off the ground and it manouvres just like a
single axle trailer. In fact, you can move them about laden without relying heavilly on the jockey wheel because they balance better.
The biggest advantage of double axle over single axle is that it doesn't yaw excessively when you go over undulations in the road. There are
other advantages too of course, they balance better so if you get your weight distribution wrong in the trailer it doesn't overload the towing
car or try to pick it up off the ground and they're less prone to snaking too.
[Edited on 4/11/05 by Kowalski]
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shortie
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| posted on 4/11/05 at 12:37 PM |
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I have a double axle trailer and when I manouvre it I just wind the jockey wheel up and this means one set of wheels is off the ground and it
manouvers easily.
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DavidM
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| posted on 4/11/05 at 12:49 PM |
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Instead of building trailers, why don't write a book, "Build Your Own Trailer For Less Than £100"
I'm sure there would be more money in it!
The second edition would of course have the suffix, "And Take It To The Races"
David
Proportion is Everything
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NS Dev
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| posted on 4/11/05 at 12:56 PM |
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Nice idea but you will find it difficult to beat the prices offered by the big companies.
We built a VERY nice trailer for my mates rally car. CNC plasmad and pressbraked channels for the car wheels with the owners names plasmad into them
for grip and security. All hot dip galved etc. (all the fabrication etc was done "in house" as we had the CNC plasma etc already there)
it cost around £800 to make, so around £400 cheaper than the equivalent BJ trailer, but then it took a week and a hlf of evenings to make the 1
trailer!
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craig1410
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| posted on 4/11/05 at 01:17 PM |
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Yeah I'd go for the concept of the trailer doubling up as a working platform so that you can park it in the garage and crawl underneath to get
at the major mechanicals. Could it perhaps be fitted with corner jacks like a caravan so that you could hold it stable and keep the trailer tyres off
the ground?
To work as a useful platform you would need to try to minimise the amount of trailer structure underneath otherwise it would get in the way.
If the trailer could be made nice and compact then I think there could very well be a market for it, especially if it could also be built as a kit
since most of us Locoster's are quite handy with a Mig welder...
Cheers,
Craig.
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emsfactory
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 posted on 4/11/05 at 01:19 PM |
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great stuuf guys. getting a lot. i have been looking through bj ifor and woodford to check out whats available. Do you think you really need 4
wheels? if so do they all have to be breaked? i like the idea of the trailer acting as a work bench too. I understand there is a price challenge and
it can take a lot of time to make one trailer. But if you built batches at a time, you can haggle on parts and manufacture time comes down. I'm
going to get onto the parts manufacturers and get an idea of prices. Keep the ideas coming.
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NS Dev
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| posted on 4/11/05 at 01:36 PM |
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I'd certainly want 4 wheels and the ability to carry a saloon car on it occasionally (say 1200kg payload)
Yes, all 4 wheels need to be braked.
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rayward
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| posted on 4/11/05 at 02:04 PM |
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Hi,
you really need to look at the price of the components needed, this will give you an idea of what its going to cost you,as i guide a single braked
axle, capable of 750kg(with suspension) is going to cost approx £200 - £300(so £400 - £600 for a twin axle). a hitch between £100 - £150, Wheels+tyres
approx £120 a set(4), +steel, brake cables, arches, jockey wheel, prop stands, lighting etc. your already getting on to around£1000, and when you can
by a BJ clubman for £1175 brand new, is it really going to be worth it??.
Ray
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Volvorsport
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| posted on 4/11/05 at 02:57 PM |
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and the law says , anything over 750kg gross - ie trailer and car will have to be braked - and i dont see any advantage by using a single axle , in
fact having over that weight on a single axle is more than some cars on the road would have over an axle .
i had a box trailer built specifically to my needs and it cost £1100 .
it isnt far of a brian james as i think everybody is saying .
i would use 10 inch wheels - altho they are more expensive over 13 inch ones .
i think you could get in lower on price than others , but not if you want it to dismantle .
www.dbsmotorsport.co.uk
getting dirty under a bus
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NS Dev
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| posted on 4/11/05 at 03:04 PM |
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I have a 4 wheel trailer that I bought secondhand pretty cheaply, but it only has brakes on one pair of wheels, and it has no plate on it.
It is a professionally made trailer, apparently a very old indespension one of something.
I really need to sell it to fund a really decent trailer to get to race meetings further afield.
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tobymack
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| posted on 4/11/05 at 04:44 PM |
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quote:
and i dont see any advantage by using a single axle
I have used a double axle before I got my single axle lightweight.
The double axle trailer was fine generally but had a couple of disadvantages
1) It needed two people to manouver on my drive (rough gravel and grass) with the car on it. whereas my woodford single axle can be easily pushed
around without doing my back in! (and yes, I did jack the front wheels off the ground)
2) If the hitch height does not match the towball height (which it did not on my old car) it was difficult to get the hitch weight correct as the car
was trying to lift the front wheels off the ground.
3) it was all round a heavier trailer, again making it more difficult to push around when empty.
So the single axle is much easier to manouver empty or full, easier to set the nose weight correctly and still tows very nicely thank you. It does
have the disadvantage that a blowout could be much more serious.
If I used mine a lot and didn't have to tuck it away into a corner when not in use I would probably go for a larger double axle job, as it is I
think the single axle is the best option (having tried both).
Horse for course I reckon.........
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JoelP
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| posted on 4/11/05 at 05:19 PM |
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i couldnt fit one into the garage, so im looking to make a twin axle enclosed trailer, with a 240v hookup to run a dehumidifier and lights when
required 
Beware! Bourettes is binfectious.
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